After storm, Texans focus on recovery
FEMA has delivered 1M-plus meals to state
DALLAS— The seam that split in a pipe under Nora Espinoza’s sink during the frigid cold that gripped Texas was narrower than the edge of a dime.
Her kitchen appeared mostly undamaged, but the plumber who cut into Espinoza’s wall found water had been pouring in underneath the floor. She expects the repairs to cost $15,000.
Espinoza, a 56-year-old Dallas resident, is among those still getting a sense of the wreckage left by the icy blast that hit Texas and much of the Deep South last week, knocking out power to millions and contributing to nearly 80 deaths.
Soaked drywall and carpet is being pulled back to give a fuller view of the destruction, and the political peril for elected leaders and energy officials who were unable to keep the heat on in places unaccustomed to freezing cold.
Snow and ice melted across Texas over the weekend, but plumbers are still racing from home to home to patch uncounted stretches of burst pipe. Many residents are unsure when they’ll be able to make permanent repairs, what they’ll have to pay out of pocket or even when they’ll be able to go home.
In the Houston area, officials on Monday announced they have set up a relief fund to help cover the cost of repairs and temporary housing for vulnerable families. Gov. Greg Abbott has indicated his state needs help.
His office encouraged out-of-state plumbers to come fix Texas pipes.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has delivered more than 1 million meals to Texas, and the Defense Department has delivered more than 4 million liters of water and continues to deliver water in bulk to multiple locations in the state, White House press secretary
Jen Psaki said Monday. The federal government also delivered dozens of emergency generators and more than 120,000 blankets to Texans over the weekend. President Joe Biden hopes to visit Texas as early as this week, Psaki said.
Tens of thousands of people in Mississippi and Louisiana also still lacked water or had very low water pressure Monday, even with weather warming up days after a winter storm.